How to Kill Dragons: Writing Excuses Exercise 1

There are thousands of writing resources available, but one that I have found most helpful and inspirational is the Writing Excuses Podcast. The host are Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. They are both hilarious and helpful, all at the same time. If you are looking for experts to follow, start with these guys.

On their website, they tell all new listeners to start with Season 10's episodes. Listen to an episode, do the homework, get better. That is their call to action.

So here we go! You can follow along with me as I go through all of these episodes. If you want to join in, drop a link to where you're posting your content, or just add your content in the comments. Let's get writing!

Writing Excuses 10.1: Seriously, Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

The Assignment

Write down five different story ideas in 150 words or less. Generate these ideas from these five sources:
  1. From an interview or conversation you’ve had
  2. From research you’ve done (reading science news, military history, etc)
  3. From observation (go for a walk!)
  4. From a piece of media (watch a movie)
  5. From a piece of music (with or without lyrics)
This exercise might not generate the very best ideas you’ve ever had, but it will definitely flex your idea muscles in new ways.

The Results

1. Prompt: If you made a clone of yourself, would they have the same memories?

2. Prompt: Scientists hope to mimic the most extreme hurricane conditions.

3. Prompt: Haboobs are used to distract you from the landscape changing itself.

4. Prompt: You accidentally stepped in front of an active shrink-ray and are now the size of a mouse. How do you get big again?

5. Prompt: A village nobody realizes they have the ability to absorb the life force of others as long as they possess their beating heart. He sets out to live forever by collecting only the strongest hearts, the hearts of heroes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pocket Stories: The Dark One

Image
Use the following items in a story: Six-pointed star, egg (opening action of some sort), Pendant/Necklace/Amulet, Crown (male version) Sparklies glittered everywhere the Dark One looked. Each nook and cranny of the interior of the giant oak tree held a priceless treasure. Each treasure stolen from those who did not see the worth of what they had. The Dark One would give each piece the attention it deserved. The golden, six-pointed star shown in the fading light from the entryway. “Sheriff” was printed on the front. The Dark One snatched it from the molding body of a fallen officer of the law, took it, in the dark of the night, hours before the body was found by the townspeople. It held a place of honor, the center of the stash. Stacked neatly on the tippy top of the teetering tower of tokens.  The star was held up by a silver crown that once graced the head of nobility passing through the Dark One’s territory on their way to somewhere grand and glorious. The noble was mu...
Read more

Knight-Time Adventures: The tale of Sir Gabriel and Sir Jerry episode 1

Image
Once upon a time there were two knights, Sir Gabriel and Sir Jerry. They were knights of honor, always willing to assist a town in distress. One day they were riding on their horses through the countryside, enjoying the scenery and the gentle breeze that cooled off their heavy sets of armor.  From over the next hill, they heard a ruckus. Several people were yelling and crying, their actual words unintelligible. They rode over to investigate. What they found broke their very hearts. A town was in splinters. Every house was shattered, the wooden boards scattered across the square. People were injured and children were crying. Two young lad saw the gallant knights and ran up to them. "Help us, Sir Knights! Help us!" The knights looked at each other before responding. "What is it we can do for you?" asked Sir Gabriel. The lads turned towards their broken town. "A dragon has come and destroyed our town. It's taken off with all our precious things, and left us wi...
Read more

Pocket Stories: Ghosted

Image
Prompt: Write about a person who meets with the ghost of an old friend for tea every so often. Shep hiked his rucksack further up his back and started the five mile walk to the abandoned cabin, set deep in the Briscoln Wood. He couldn't remember when he'd first come upon the cabin, which was more like a glorified shack, held together by sheer force of nature. He did remember how shocked he'd felt when he'd found out it was haunted though. He reached his destination just as the sun sunk below the tree line, giving the cabin a foreboding air. He wasn't worried though. The cabin may have been haunted, but he knew the haunter and how much they disliked the "others" disturbing their guests. The cabin was in shambles and squirrels darted out of their hidey-holes as Shep made himself comfortable. The only set of furniture that was usable was a little table with two rickety chairs. He busied himself with setting the table with the battered tea set from his rucksac...
Read more